McCarthy Auto World

Monday, June 10, 2013

Maintenance Monday Tips!

Summer Heat Means More Auto Maintenance!

Regular maintenance and care for your car is necessary, especially during the hot summer months. Here are a few tips that can help you get your car ready for summer.

1) Maintain Your Tire Pressure. Heat from the hot concrete roads is the biggest natural enemy to your tires, so the most important thing you can do to combat this is to keep proper tire pressure. Check your tire pressure weekly to keep it at the automobile manufacturer recommended psi (you can find that information on the inside of the driver's door) NOT what it says on the side of the tire. You can also switch from air to Nitrogen, because Nitrogen does not lose pressure like air does.

2) Have a Good Battery. Often, the most expensive battery isn't necessarily the best one. Usually, the all-weather batteries are more expensive and made for colder climates, so try to find a mid-priced battery instead. If you have trouble starting your car, especially in the summer, pay attention. Get your battery checked right away to make sure it isn't about to go dead and leave you stuck in the heat with a car that won't start!

3) Check A/C Flow. Like humans in extreme heat, your car needs to sweat in order to remain "healthy." To keep your car healthy, make sure your cabin air filter (if your car has one) doesn't have any restrictions and has a good flow out the vents. Also, if you notice some dripping underneath the car when it's humid outside, don't be alarmed - that just means that your condensation tube is unrestricted and water is able to get out.

Road Trip Quick Tip

With summer gearing up, more and more people are hitting the road for a quick getaway. We want to make sure your car is in top condition to travel long distances, so here’s a suggestion for your next road trip…

Don’t wait until the last minute to fill up your tank on the road! Waiting until the gas needle gets close to EMPTY or the gas light goes not only puts you at risk of being stranded on the side of the road, but it can cause potential damage to your car. Running your car on very little fuel can pull sediment from the bottom of the fuel tank into the rest of the car's system. This can clog the fuel pump, fuel injectors or fuel filter. The fuel pump is electric and the sediment could also cause your car to overheat, costing you about $500 in repairs, which is definitely not something most of us want to spend money on, especially during vacation!

To prevent this from happening, re-fuel before your car is below a quarter tank and definitely before the gaslight goes on!